NAB Young Footballer Of The Year 2009/10 Recap

Brisbane Roar excitement machine Tommy Oar capped off a stellar season by winning the 2009/10 NAB Young Footballer of the Year Award.
Tommy, 18, was presented with the honour and inaugural trophy by NAB at the Hyundai A-League Awards ceremony in Sydney last night.

In addition to the bragging rights of being labelled the best young Australian talent under the age of 21, Oar was presented with a $10,000 personal investment portfolio courtesy of National Australia Bank.

“I-m absolutely rapt to win this prestigious NAB award in its inaugural year,” said Tommy Oar.

“This is totally unexpected, my aim at the start of the season was to break into the starting XI, work hard and go out on the field and express myself and I-m delighted to get recognition for that.”

Joseph Healy, NAB Group Executive, Business Banking said NAB is delighted to be building upon its FFA partnership with the NAB Young Footballer of the Year while at the same time offering assistance to the game at a grassroots level.

“We congratulate Tommy on this outstanding achievement and look forward to watching his development in the years to come,” said Mr Healy.

“NAB is pleased to be assisting with the identification of the next generation of Australian Football stars. We are proud to support this initiative and the young players in the competition as they strive to reach their potential.”

At just 18 years of age and still eligible for Under 20 duties with the Young Socceroos, Tommy Oar was an instrumental cog in the Brisbane Roar forward set-up, possessing a lethal left foot, fantastic vision and brilliant ball control.

Consistency of performance was a highlight with Oar playing in 17 fixtures for the Roar. Socceroos Head Coach Pim Verbeek was so impressed with Oar-s A-League season that in December he won selection in the Socceroos Squad for the Asian Cup Qualifier against Kuwait.

Fittingly, an award such as the NAB Young Footballer of the Year, which is designed to unearth the future stars of the game has done just that in its inaugural year.

As part of its commitment to grassroots football and to acknowledge the vital role junior football clubs play in the development of today-s young stars, NAB has also presented the junior clubs of each NAB Young Footballer of the Year nominee with a $3000 equipment pack during the season.

Of the six nominees Tommy Oar was a unanimous choice with the judging panel.

Monthly Nominees:

Voted by a panel of experts, including Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen, Qantas Socceroos Coach Pim Verbeek and Assistant Coach Graham Arnold, the judges met monthly throughout season (and at years end) to adjudicate on the best performed U21 players in the competition.

Determined by a panel of experts including Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen, Qantas Socceroos Assistant Coach Graham Arnold and Fox Sports FC host Andy Harper, the NAB Young Footballer of the Year nominee, was judged on his performance over rounds of the Hyundai A-League 2009/10 competition.

August 2009 Nominee : Kofi Danning

The month of August, 2009 was a big milestone for rising Sydney FC star, Kofi Danning, and the then 18-year old added another feather to his cap, becoming the first nominee for the 2009/10 NAB Young Footballer of the Year award.
Danning was the first of six nominees that would be ultimately be in the running for the NAB Young Footballer of the Year award at the end of the season.

September 2009 Nominee : Leigh Broxham

Leigh Broxham was the second nominee for the 2009/10 NAB Young Footballer of the Year. Broxham, along with Sydney FC's Kofi Danning, would be joined by four additional nominees throughout the Hyundai A-League 2009/10 season in the race to be named the inaugural NAB Young Footballer of the Year.

October 2009 Nominee : Tommy Oar

Tommy Oar of Brisbane Roar was voted as the most outstanding U/21 player for the month of October.
Tommy Oar was the third nominated player to be announced and joined Sydney FC-s Kofi Danning and Melbourne Victory-s Leigh Broxham, as well as a further three players to be nominated over the coming months, to qualify to be named the NAB Young Footballer of the Year at the conclusion of the season.

November 2009 Nominee : Rostyn Griffiths

Rostyn Griffiths of North Queensland Fury was voted as the most outstanding U/21 player for the month of November. Rostyn Griffiths is the fourth nominated player to be announced and joins Sydney FC-s Kofi Danning, Melbourne Victory-s Leigh Broxham and Brisbane Roar's Tommy Oar, as well as a further two players to be nominated over the coming months, to qualify to be named the NAB Young Footballer of the Year at the conclusion of the season.

December 2009 Nominee : Ben Kantarovski

Ben Kantarovski of Newcastle Jets was voted as the most outstanding U/21 player for the month of December.
Determined by a panel of experts the NAB Young Footballer of the Year - December nominee, Ben Kantarovski, was judged on his performance over rounds 17-21 of the Hyundai A-League 2009/10 competition.

January 2010 Nominee : Mathew Leckie

Young Adelaide United FC midfielder Mathew Leckie was the January nominee for Football Federation Australia-s (FFA) 2009/10 NAB Young Footballer of the Year Award. Leckie was voted by a panel of experts as the most outstanding U/21 player for the month of January (Rounds 22-26), the 19 year old becoming the sixth, and final, nominee for the award.